First, this is what a healthy knee is supposed to look like. This is the medial facet of the patella and the trochlea (knee cap and inside of the femur):
See how the surfaces are smooth, unfettered and there is no discoloration? Nice, huh?
Now let’s move to the lateral portion of my knee (the outside – where the illiotibial band connects into the knee joint.) This is the back side of the patella – called the lateral facet.
And so is this.
This is more towards the ridge (middle) on the backside of the patella. See how it’s right down to the bone – the white stuff is the hyaline cartilage and is supposed to have a continuous and smooth appearance and not look like it was just hit with napalm.
And now the kissing part of the lesion. This is the “base” of the femur where it meets the knee joint, called the trochlea.
The top of the image inside the circle is the trochlea and you can see how it’s not worn down to the bone, as is the patella on the bottom (bottom left inside the circle you can see the exposed bone). This is a Grade 3 lesion – blistered and damaged but not gone.
So these pictures pretty much stopped me in my tracks and has me second guessing pretty much everything I do. The unfortunate thing is that the conclusion is inevitable but the path I take to get there is what I’m trying to affect. More impact = a faster path to osteoarthritis. Hopefully the lower impact options will prove effective...both in knee longevity and weight management.
The really shitty part is that I’m really just not looking forward to spending a few thousand dollars on a new bike. Crap, that’s a lot of pairs of running shoes! I’m not going to buy used as I don’t really know anyone who is selling a bike and I have enough problems of my own. I don’t need to buy someone else’s problem(s).
I can't wait to get outside though.
2 comments:
Ugh. I totally feel for you. It was hard enough to give up running for 6 weeks without knowing if I'll ever get better. To give it up indefinitely must be agonizing.
That said, biking IS better than swimming in the wind-in-your-face, soaking up the sunshine, working up a sweat sort of way. Spend the money, throw your energy into it.
And LBI is a great place to get long, solid rides done. :) I'll join you this summer!
Hey Dan - finally got to check this out. Ugh, I can understand fully now what you were chatting about when you were out here. I hope you do find some compromise of sorts that will last a lifetime.
I hope you're doing well - haven't heard much from you since you left the Bay Area.
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